Eleven hours and 250 miles of amazing!

Covered Bridge in Illinois.

It was a cool 66 degrees as we left the Wagon Wheel, our clothes still damp from Thursday’s storm. The interstate was built beside 66 here and the old road is still maintained. It’s used as an access road and connects the main streets of the towns as it may have even before it was designated “Route 66.”

It’s an easy ride and you have the opportunity to reflect. We were rolling along on Sportsters about 50 mph while the cars on the highway were doing 70 when I thought about the guy at the Totem Pole Trading Post in Rolla. He pointed out when they were building Route 66 the Model T was Fords newest car. On some of the narrow 1926-1930 alignments it’s easy to imagine chugging along in a column of Model-Ts at 25-30MPH, pulling over to eat a sandwich while the car cools after a long grade…and no other option.

Anyway, we had a nice visit at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch where we got some good tips on older and abandoned sections. Rode through a section south of St Louis that looks exactly like south Orange County without Wahoos, but we did try Steak and Shake. Rode through one beautiful town after another, stopped at Doc’s Soda Fountain in Girard then into Springfield IL. where we collapsed after a great “not” Route 66 Pizza at Gallina Pizzaria. I don’t claim to be a Pizza expert but this place did it for me.